will be joining us as well. >> also, israel launches a massive military operation in response to hamas. >> gold also higher. one of those days where energy went higher and stocks went lower. we're setting lows right now. the dow down 126 points at the 12,629 level. the nasdaq and s&p are also moving lower. the nasdaq has moved into correction territory, down about 10% from its highs set earlier this year. the s&p is down sharply as well at this hour. so it was those fed minutes, the continued fears we may go over the fiscal cliff as the negotiations are being carried out so far in a very public arena right now. we are off the worst levels of the day, but will these concerns keep investors out of the market right now? let's talk about that, shall we? >> that's what we want to in today's "closing bell" exchange. neil, let me kick this off with you. good to see you. thanks for joining us. as somebody who's putting capital to work in this market, you see a market that is down 600 points on the dow industrials. just since the election, that's 4% declines since the election on november 6th.

oil prices. take a look at this incredible video from gaza. israel launched an a air strike. crude immediately spiked. where do you put this? we know there are tensions between hamas and israel. >> i don't think so. i think this is a bigger issue than people made out today. we are used to that rhetoric but you are starting to see the rest of the middle east get involved. we saw egypt pull the ambassador from israel. and this is not the normalal lobbing missiles back and forth. this is something very different. i bought oil on this. i bought rent oil and that is the way to play it. >> what are other plays? >> i was surprised oil didn't give us more. this was a meager response when there is a box in syria and we are not seeing a bid to oil and commodities. cftc longs in the commodity space are three-month lows. copper is a space i want to sniff around. >> house speaker boehner is speaking responding to the president. >> united and focusing on their top priority which is jobs. i'm proud of my leadership colleagues who have been elected today to serve as our leaders of the next confere

. it's always geopolitics. i think it's important to understand, this is hamas, israel. this is not iraq. this is not iran. this is not saudi arabia. this is over on -- near the sinai. very little crude oil involved there. in the past if you had crude oil in a bull market, this kind of news would have sent crude up $3. we're struggling to get over 85 cents at this point. as i said earlier, i think you sell into it. i don't think you buy this news. if you can only rally 85 cents on west texas. yes, i understand brent is up $1.56 but brent has been gaining on wti for a long period of time. i don't put a lot of credence in that. in the past, this kind of news would have sent crude up $3. >> coming up, places to put your money as the fiscal cliff looms. and places you might not expect. and president obama likely to get a lot of questions about the economy and the cliff at today's news conference. we'll bring it to you live when it starts around 1:30 eastern. our special coverage begins at the top of the hour at 1:00. if we want to improve our schools... ... what should we invest in? maybe ne

reports out of israel that israel has conducted a military action killing a senior hamas leader. an air strike in the gaza area killed the head of the hamas military. one of the things a number of traders heard about that earlier but one thing is an israeli military spokesman says this is the start of a broader operation. so that is one of the things. it seems to have the market a little bit on edge and has them bidding up oil at this hour. the one trader i talked to said between the tensions between israel and hamas if we'll see that spiking up obviously israel and syria over the last few weeks, that's better than israel and iran. back to you. >> that's true. bertha, thank you very much for that. congratulations if you are hold cisco shares coming into this session. they are experiencing a good bump on last night's results. we'll talk about what they are doing right and whether risks lie ahead next on the program and who would be affected the most if we go over the fiscal cliff? we'll get up close and personal with the cliff and as we head toward the break, another fiscal cliff fac

the attack out of israel on hamas. this, of course, another major news story today that we're following and the reason oil prices have spiked. >> the latest is the israelis have said there's going to be a lot more of what you've already seen. let's show you what's already happened. this video is incredible. it's released by the israeli defense forces. follow that car. what you'll see is not a car bomb. it is a targeted attack by the israeli air force. inside the military leader of hamas was directly targeted. this is operation pillar of defense. it was announced today on twitter by the israeli defense force. take a look at what the spokesperson posted on twitter. he said, we recommend no hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders show their face above ground in the days ahead. one of the reasons why oil spiked earlier. the israelis say this is in response to hundreds of rocket attacks coming into gaza over the last several days. >> all right, michelle. thank you. we'll come back to you as news develops there. i'm here now with quint. thanks for joining us. normally

israel that they have targeted the home of a second leader, militant leader within the gaza strip. as soon as we know more we'll bring it to you. meantime, let's show you the video of what we do know happened this morning just released by the israeli defense forces. watch that car. that is not a car bomb. that is a targeted air strike by the israeli air force. inside that car is ahmed al gabari. the idf confirming they've killed him, the military leader of hamas. believed to be the mastermind behind the kidnapping of an israeli soldier in 2005, only released last year as part of a very dramatic prisoner exchange. israelis have been trying to get this guy for several years. the last time they missed, instead they got his son and the israelis made clear -- the israeli government made clear starting three days ago they were going to start to pick up their attacks in targeted assassinations of militant leaders within gaza because of rocket fire that had been coming from gaza in to israel. there you see the aftermath of that car attack -- or that air strike, that targeted air strike wi

border syria and have an impact -- and obviously israel which is having already grave concerns as we do about, for example, movements of chemical weapons that might occur in such a chaotic atmosphere. and that could have an impact not just within syria but on the region as a whole. i'm encouraged to see that the syrian opposition created an umbrella group that may have more cohesion than they've had in the past. we're going to be talking to them. my envoys are going to be traveling to various meetings that are going to be taking place with the international community and the opposition. we consider them a legitimate representative of the aspirations of the syrian people. we're not yet prepared to recognize them as some sort of government in exile, but we do think that it is a broad-based representative group. one of the questions that we're going to continue to press is making sure that that opposition is committed to a democratic syria, an inclusive syria, a moderate syria. we have seen extremist elements insinuate themselves into the opposition and one of the things that we have

breaking news here on r t israel pummels gaza with strikes after assassinating the top military leader of hamas at least nine people are reported killed including children israeli troops are on standby for a ground invasion. a bloody offensive seize key regional player egypt cutting off its diplomatic ties with israel and it's speculation that the flow of islamic fighters could soon head into gaza. and rising up against austerity millions of europeans sign up for block wide action against cuts with mass protests provoking the very heavy arm of the little. live from our new center here in moscow this is r.t. with international news and comment twenty four hours a day israel has launched a deadly military offensive against gaza with fighter jets and warships attacking the occupied territory the operation began with the airstrike assassination of the military leader of hamas the palestinian group pledged to open the gates of hell in return ation well for more let's now cross live to tom barton he's in tel aviv so tom what can you tell us at this stage. well the situation down on th

hell for all out war with israel he was assassinated by an israeli air strike which promises to mark the beginning of an israeli led offensive against gaza for more let's cross now live to our. he's in tel aviv tom tell us exactly what's happening. hi there bill a rapidly developing situation here the latest developments that we've got for you in just the last few minutes egypt has said it may remove. to israel over these over these strikes it all goes back earlier just a few hours to the killing of jabiri that is hamas is military head by a targeted asked israeli airstrike and then that develops into critic quite intense bombing that's been going on over gaza in the past few hours reports at the moment from palestinian officials say that nine have been killed and dozens wounded including among those dead a seven year old girl we've also got reports that raid al at another high profile hamas military figure was killed in a separate targeted bombing attack that the israelis have also hit an ammunition warehouse will what they call an ammunition warehouse inside gaza where a lot of roc

is assassinated by an airstrike which israel warns is the start of a major offensive against gaza. rising up against the stair achieve millions of europeans sign up to block wide action against cuts with mass protests underway in almost every nation on the continent. and a sex scandal triggered by revelations the former cia chief cheated smashes america's p.r. push in afghanistan and topples the reputation of the current celebrity commander. and the foreign formed syrian rebel coalition secure as overwhelming recognition from france when other european states and the u.s. pulled back. from our new center here in moscow this is r.t. with international news and comment twenty four hours a day says the killing of its military leader has opened the gates of hell for all out war with israel he was assassinated by an israeli air strike which promises to mark the beginning of an israeli led offensive against gaza for more let's cross live to r.t. and he's in tel aviv tom tell us what exactly has happened. hi there bill i don't think it would be over dramatic to say but it will has indeed

r.t. with international news and comment with the twenty four hours a day israel has launched a deadly military offensive against gaza with war planes hitting at least twenty sites in the occupied territory the operation began with the airstrike assassination of the military leader unless the palestinian group pledged to open the gates of hell in retaliation well for more let's cross now to. tom tell us exactly what is happening at the moment. hi there bill a intense aerial offensive going on as we speak over gaza israeli jets say they've targeted about twenty sites sites say they're trying to destroy a terrorist infrastructure there in gaza the result large explosions most recently near the the house of a hamas leader earlier on today video is now being circulated by the israeli defense force of the moment when the car of med jobbery the leader of hamas his military wing was blown up by a missile strike at what the israelis call a targeted killing there's also been another high ranking hamas military figure killed as well there's also been reports of casualties inside gaza at the mome

for you? >> now bbc world news america. israel kills the leader of hamas in the of the, causing an escalation of violence. governments should stop cutting benefits and start creating jobs. welcome to manhattan, kansas. >> may know more about technology than a tomcat's knows about baking gingerbread. >> welcome to our viewers. israel killed the military commander of hamas and launched a series of attacks. hamas vowed in this would open the gates to hell. military action will continue. >> for the people of gaza, it looked like a war, and as in most wars, civilians are caught up in the violence. the first target today was the biggest hamas's most senior military leader was typify and -- hit by a military strike. he died instantly. hamas says this is a major provocation. good >> they will pay a price for this, because he was one of our most exceptional leaders. >> she sat at the top of the military wing. tonight israel published these images. the army released video footage of him being tracked and the moment when his car was hit. israel said the strike followed a wave of rocket attack

fears tonight of a widening conflict between israel and hamas after a major escalation today-- more than 20 air strikes and at least ten palestinians dead ray suarez reports. ( sirens ) >> suarez: it began with a precision air strike that left twisted metal and flaming debris on the streets of gaza city. the target: ahmed jabari, head of the military wing of the militant group hamas, which rules gaza. he was at the top of israel's most wanted list and the most senior hamas official killed since israel's last war in gaza in 2009. the israeli military posted video of the strike on you tube and said it was the opening round of a larger campaign dubbed "operation: pillar of defense." >> the goal of the operation is to defend israeli people and also target and cripple those terror organizations responsible for the ongoing rocket fire-- namely hamas, islamic jihad and others. >> suarez: in short order, smoke rose across the gaza city skyline from other air strikes, and fires burned into the night as the attacks continued. and prime minister benjamin netanyahu warned israel might expand th

obama administration. the life here must go back to our breaking news story now israel has launched air strikes on assassinations in gaza killing the military leader of hamas and bombing at least twenty sites in the occupied territory the operation began with israeli warplanes killing the military leader of hamas c.c.t.v. footage of the attack has been released by the israeli military has been a powerful explosion outside the house of the palestinian groups foreign affairs chief the followup strikes killed at least nine people including children there's now talk in israel of protected fighting in gaza with warnings of an imminent ground invasion as naval vessels bombard targets from the sea and i says israel has opened the gates of hell and is now war with israel well keeping you updated on that breaking news as the story unfolds and we go live to gaza for a witness account of what's happening there right now about sort of this short break. the stairs. i miss it's in. my daddy. a lot of. does a famous reuse benson play was oh my saban's does my mommy ransom business. world with. its

that. still ahead israel takes out with of the top targets. but first, the man many blame for deadly meningitis outbreak takes the fifth. lists all done. raise the roof! no one says th anymore, mom. [ woman ] raise the roof! ah? raise the roof! [ male announcer ] it's our biggest oltoy rollback of the ye. find hundreds of rollbacks on the season's hottest toys in stores now, from america's gift headquarters, walmart. introducing the new droid razr maxx hd by motorola. now more than ever droid does. >> chris: lawmakers did not get much information from the man who runs the company tied to the meningitis outbreak that killed 32 people. correspondent jonathan serrie tells us he was asked a number of key questions but he wouldn't answer. >> i decline to answer. >> on advice of counsel i decline to answer. >> barry, the coowner of the massachusetts pharmacy implicated in the deadly meningitis outbreak refused to testify despite repeated questions from a congressional panel. >> what do you say to all of these patients and all of the families that have been devastated by the contaminated pr

breaking news israel pummels gaza with air strikes the top military leader of hamas at least nine people are reported killed including children is ready troops are on standby for a ground invasion. rising up against austerity millions a european sign up from block one action against cuts and mass protests provoking the heavy arm of the law. a sex scandal triggered by revelations a former cia chief cheated smashes america's p.r. push in afghanistan on top of the reputation of the current celebrity come on. live from the new center here in moscow this is r.t. with international news and comment twenty four hours a day breaking news israel has launched a deadly military offensive against gaza with warplanes hitting at least twenty sites in the occupied territory the operation began with the airstrike assassination of the military leader of hamas the palestinian group pledged to open the gates of hell in retaliation for more nest nuts that's now cross live to r.t. tom bowman joins me live tom tell us exactly what's happening now. hi there bill well yes the situation continuing to esca

, george gilder, also the author of the "israel test," just released today. >> i it is great to be here. lou: let's start some politics. i think rationally so. we are faced with economic calamity if our politics don't work here. what would you put the odds at that busy rationality and effectiveness reemerge from washington, d.c., on the fiscal cliff? >> zero. lou: i thought that. >> if we can keep the current tax rates, we would continue to increase government revenue. increasing 26% under the bush tax rates over the last two years. over the last two years, government revenues have risen 26%, almost a quarter using the buss tax rates. low tax rates bring more revenues, not less revenues. lou: do you interpret all of the drama to be a lack of faith? in front of the growth model that has been demonstrated, as you point out, over the past two years. they are really saying the economy cannot grow fast enough to support the government. we will not see revenue increase unless we raise taxes. >> that is correct. the pre-verse thing is you don't get growth if you raise tax rates. in california

of his first news conference since the election. and israel retaliates for rocket attacks with deadly strikes and extremist targets. now hamas is warning that the gates of hell have been opened. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> eight days after his re-election, president obama faced reporters in the midst of an unfolding scandal and with a potential economic crisis holding over his head. but he only got riled up when he responded to republican criticism of his united nations ambassador susan rice. more on that coming up. standby. but first, the president's careful responses about the investigation of this former cia chief david petraeus and on negotiations to avoid what's called the fiscal cliff. our white house correspondent jessica yellin was over at the east strip of the white house. you had a chance to speak to the president and ask him about that looming fiscal cliff. >> reporter: hi, wolf. that's right, i did. i asked the president why anyone should believe that he won't cave off of his position that he will not extend bush tax cuts for the wealthiest since

member of his team comes under attack. >>> did we just get closer to war in the middle east? israel kills a major figure in the sky. both sides are ready for retaliation. >>> and making a difference for those who lost so much, including their classrooms. nightly news begins now. . >>> good evening, the woman who started it all, the investigation into a chain of e-mails that led to the resignation of the cia director, former four-star general, david petraeus, is tonight telling more of her side of the story through a surrogate. for the first time we're learning why she says she felt the need to approach the fbi and ask them to investigate the communications she was receiving. jill kelley of tampa, florida, is now a big part of the story involving several big names. tonight, she is clearly attempting to clear her own. we begin here tonight in the studio with nbc's andrea mitchell, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian, tonight, new details emerged on how the anonymous e-mails that paula broadwell sent to a tampa woman, who knew the four-star general, ended upsetting up a chai

targeted assassination by israel which has been staging airstrikes on gaza for the past week we now understand of this just coming in that israeli authorities are now using this as an excuse to levy some sort of strike against gaza let's cross over to walk he's told bob and he's live in telling. us more on this tom good to see you let's talk about any reaction from hamas now to this whole high profile killing what are you hearing. yes rory well in the past few hours this been a rapid some rapid developments with this story really quite alarming developments potentially the latest that we know is that jobbery was killed in an israeli airstrike inside gaza revers also died with him apparently his own son as well he was the head of hamas is military wing in response to this how mass has said that now exists a heightened state of affairs with israel we've also contacted the the israeli defense ministry here they refused to say very much we have heard reports of an operation cloud pillar. this been started by the israeli defense forces israeli forces over israel we're not sure exactly wh

brotherhood has condemned israel's aggressive response to hamas rockets threatening to pull the egyptian ambassador from israel the muslim brotherhood's political wing j.-p. said in a statement that israel's return to the policy of assignation of leaders in the palestinian struggle groups shows that there's really occupation wants to drag the region toward instability the statement added that the occupying state has to understand that the changes the arab region especially egypt have witnessed will not permit the palestinian people be put under the hold of the israeli offensive in the same way as in the past what's perhaps most troubling is the deafening silence from the obama administration just today obama gave his first press conference since being reelected where he touched upon a whole range of global issues and surprisingly there was no mention of the declaration of war against america's closest ally in the middle east and surprising to. it goes without saying that israel respond with full military force and they'll come out just fine look i is it's clear that neither side

of the pital, he is turning to it, i suppose. i want to turn to this book, "the israel test." you take up e issue of the world civilization, importance israel within it. as a capitalist as well as jewish state. you reallyelve that israel is that strong, that important in the world's future? >> i certainly do. the american economy is heavily dependent on israetoday, partly because of the debauchery of silicon valley, but now israel is a crucial sourcef new technology for apple. all apples, flash tribes, just bought a new israeli company to empower its new technologies. microsoft, cisco, johnson and johnson. the dependent on technologies that come from israel. they're deeply dependent. obama seems to think that the the tips is more important in israel or turkey is more important. israel is the most important technology force in the world next to the unitedstates, and if we keep on ou current path rael will benumber one. lou: always good to talk with you. >> great to talk to you. lou: you can find a link honor loudobbs.com. forty-eight days until the fiscal cliff. can the president a

border syria and have an impact and obviously israel, which is having already grave concerns as we do about, for example, movements of chemical weapons that might occur in such a chaotic atmosphere. and that could have an impact not just within syria, but on the region as a whole. i'm encouraged to see that the syrian opposition created an umbrella group that may have more cohesion than they had in the past. we're going to be talking to them, my envoys will be traveling to, you know, various meetings that are going to be taking place want international community and the opposition. we consider them a legitimate representation of the aspirations of the syrian people. we're not yet prepared to recognize them as some sort of government in exile, but we do think that it is a broad-based representative group. one of the questions that we're going to continue to press is making sure that opposition is committed to a democratic syria, an inclusive syria, a moderate syria. we have seen extremist elements insinuate themselves into the opposition. and, you know, one of the things we have to be

. aljabari's car came after benjamin netanyahu warned that israel would retaliate for the increased rocket attacks from gaza. this was a first in a series of air strikes. eight so far in gaza today. i want to bring in sarah who is joining us from jerusalem with the latest on this. this was a very big deal here. i mean, he was very important symbolically and also in the military. >> absolutely. s he was head of the military wing of the merl wing. he was killed today in an air strike along side another person inside of a vehicle. we are getting conflicting reports. one says that was his bodyguard. a website from the military wing says that was, indeed, his son. it could be one in the same person, but we do know that at least six people have been killed in air strikes. we now are up to 11 air strikes over the past several hours. israel has been flying over gaza and hitting very targeted areas and looking for certain targets specifically. what we also know from israel is that they are prepared for a ground war. however, they have the boots, they have the soldiers, they have everyone rea

israeli missile. the israel will defense forces say that he was directly responsible for carrying out terror attacks against israel for years. the attack came actually after the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, warned this week of pending retaliation for the increased rocket attacks coming out of gaza. the palestinian government has issued a statement calling him a great leader, end quote. reuters is reporting that hamas radio immediately after the attack began broadcasting calls for revenge and those are the scenes you can see for yourself. does this have the potential of becoming a renewed -- >> certainly the war between these two countries could escalate to a very big degree depending on what happens over the next few hours and maybe the next day or so. so far, six people have been killed according to hamas officials. in gaza. there are air strikes that have been going on right now. so far, nine air strikes that have happened and as you mentioned, the important, big news of the day here is that the leader of the military wing of ma has, but also one of the founding members, a bi

... fernando pizarro nos dice de que se tratan... israel ortega, editor heritage libertad fernando pizarro, washington d.c. *+ en 1 conferencia de prensa el presidente obama elogio el aumento del voto latino y expreso confianza en que se presentara a principios del 2013 1 proyecto de reforma migratoria integral. presidente obama porque hay que asegurar las fronteras. debiera tener serias multas para empresas que contratan y se aprovechan de indocumentados. y creo que debiera haber 1 camino a un estatus legal para los que viven en el pais sin record criminal. agrego que incluiria la accion diferida para los jovenes del dream act. el presidente indico que esta dispuesto a compromisos sobre los impuestos, y prefiere no subirlos a quienes ganan menos de 250 mil dolares anuales. presidente obama si el congreso no actua al final del ano, los impuestos de todos automaticamente aumentaran.la fundacion heritag opone al aumento tributario, dice que si no hay acuerdo para el 31 de diciembre, los impuestos subiran entre 850 y 4 mil dolares para la clase media. israel ortega, editor heritage li

after today's airstrikes by israel into gaza. these strikes hitting hamas targets all across the region, killing one of the group's top military commanders. now an israeli military spokesman is predicting days of fighting with the palestinians. leland vittert is live in israel near the border with gaza. what is going on, leland? >> reporter: right now, according to hamas militant organization they have quote, opened the gates of hell. there has been a declaration of war they say about the israelis by this airstrike. israelis providing video of the moment they killed ahmed jabari, the lead are of hamas militant tant wing. many are comparing assassination of him as nating usama bin laden. israelis launched operation cloud of pillar which is targeted assassination of number of hamas militants and islamic jihad and going off their warehouses which have a number of mass weapon storage facilities. we're here talking right now there are dozens of airstrikes going on over the gaza strip. large fireballs coming up from inside gaza. and they say a cloud of pillar will go on for a number we

between israelis and the palestinians today, because israel killed the military leader of the palestinian militant group hamas, in an air strike. look. this is the car in gaza, carrying the hamas commander as an israeli rocket hits it. israel said this was retaliation for rockets fired by palestinian militants. overall, israel hitting 20 targets. it's being called the most serious escalation in violence there in four years. >>> and back here at home, a very big drama today, about the meningitis outbreak. the man who owns that drug factory, contaminated by fungus, came to be grilled on capitol hill. and in the same room, the families of those who died, giving gripping testimony, saying, it is a nightmare that will not end. here's abc's david kerley. >> reporter: the man whose company produced drugs and sickened so many -- >> anything you can say to them? >> reporter: ran a gauntless of reporters. >> why not? >> reporter: he said nothing about his pharmacy that made drugs for debilitating back pain. the conditions were deplorable. dirty floors, clean rooms with mold or bacterial

linked to the deaths of 32 patients. jim axelrod is on the case. israel finds a sworn enemy and takes a shot. it's the beginning of a major military operation. ... and doctor jon lapook with a pineither surgeon who can turn a voice like this... into something like this. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, for the first time the president weighed in on the scandal that ended the career of his c.i.a. director and derailed his nominee to lead nato. president obama told a news conference no classified information was compromised in the e-mail and sex scandal. he was asked about david petraeus, perhaps most distinguished army general of his generation, who quit the c.i.a. last week after an f.b.i. investigation discovered that he was having an affair. >> general petraeus had an extraordinary career. he served this country with great distinction in iraq, in afghanistan, and as head of the c.i.a. by his own assessment, he did not meet standards that he felt were necessary as the director of the c.i.a. with respect to this perso

kirkuk. israel and palestinian leaders in gaza have agreed to attack -- agreed to a tacit truce following days of violence in the gaza strip. at least seven palestinians have been killed in israeli attacks on gaza since saturday. eight israeli civilians have also been wounded by palestinian rockets. the temporary ceasefire was brokered by the egyptian government, but both sides say they're prepared to resume attacks if it fails. the united nations general assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn the u.s. embargo against cuba for the 21st year in a row. the final vote was 188 to 3, with only israel and the pacific island state of palau joining the united states. u.s. envoy abroad -- robert goddard urged fellow general assembly delegates to reject the measure. >> this resolution also serves to distract the real problems facing the cuban people, therefore, my delegation will oppose it. we encourage this body to support the desires of the cuban people to determine their own future freely. by doing so, it would truly advanced the principles of the united nations charter and the p

have that story ahead on news4. >>> angry civilians in gaza are demanding retaliation on israel. a top hamas leader was killed by an air strike today. israel also attacked two hamas training facilities. violence has escalated in the gaza strip over the last few days. militants fired more than a hundred rockets near israel since saturday. >>> tear gas was used to break up protests across the eu. it was quieter and wealthier nations like germany, hundreds of thousands of people went on strike to say what they call a social emergency. they want their governments to focus on job creation rather than spending cuts. >>> president obama called on both republicans and democrats today to help the middle class avoid large tax increases. the congress has only 47 days before the so-called fiscal cliff. as nbc's danielle lee reports now, business leaders and taxpayers are growing more anxious about the new year. >> reporter: while lawmakers inside the capitol fight over taxes, on the outside the message from voters is clear. >> get together and reach a compromise. we do it every day in the regular

analysts calling the killing of israel's osama bin laden. the israeli army reports an airstrike killed a top commander in the militant group hamas as part of a new wave of deadly attacks in the gaza strip and the leader was at the top of israel's most wanted palestinian militants list. now the israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu who is up for re-election and was hurting before today says his military is ready to expand its operation in gaza further, an operation that hamas claims would "on the gates of hell." he -- we have a reporter on scene. leland? >> it has been a wild night. dozens if not hundreds of explosions behind me in the gaza strip and over the missiles are flying out of gaza towards a number of israeli towns. things escalate in the middle east quickly. this began before sundown with the assassination of the top hamas military commander. it shows the amount of real time operational intelligence the israels have. they have been planning this operation for a while. they put it into motion quickly. they killed him, a couple of other hamas targets and then began systemati

commander of this military wing. israel is now saying that this is just the beginning. leland vittert is live in jerusalem. what can we report? reporter: right now there are some myths to the israeli version of killing osama bin laden. ahmed jabari had been running this for 10 years. he killed so many israeli people. he was killed in a targeted killing in the gaza strip. a missile took out a card he was riding in. it leads to more targeted killing of militants there. the military now calling this operation cloud pillar. we just got off the briefing with the israeli military says it is going to be in operation against hamas and islamic jihad. also some of their camps and weapons storage facilities there, inside of the gaza strip. what we are waiting for right now is the reciprocity multiplier to begin. over the past week or so there have been about 160 rockets fired out of the gaza strip into southern israel. those rockets believe messing up life in southern israel. obviously, they have the potential to kill and injure a number of people. they demanded action and eventually, the israeli m

steering problem. what you need to know. >> among our guests today, new york congressman steve israel will be joining us. newt and callista gingrich. author kitty kelley. pennsylvania congressman allyson schwartz. patty murray is with us and director oliver stone. it is wednesday, november 14th. "starting point" begins right now. >> look at me i'm whistling our theme song this morning. you're watching "starting point." the scandal, and it's spreading, is now engulfing two four-star generals. there are some new details about the woman who is at the center of it all. her name is jill kelley. she is described as a tammpy socialite. she first reported she's anonymous harassing e-mails to an fbi agent friend, and that ended up triggering an investigation. those e-mails eventually turned out to be sent by paula broadwell. that would be david petraeus' biographer. and eventually turned out his mistress, as well. we mentioned it was a web, didn't i? and it is. the affair exposed general petraeus and he was forced to resign as the cia director. well, now the general john allen, who is the top u.s.

consider the embargo illegal. only the u.s., israel, and an island state voted against. >> rome has been put on alert as the flooding has now reached the country's capital. >> meanwhile, people are beginning to clean up. the extent of the damage from the record flooding is becoming apparent. >> there was no rain on wednesday in central italy, but that was a small consolation to those affected by damage from the flooding. some areas in the region have not seen flooding is bad for 200 years. but back then, the river valleys were not built up. >> i have never seen anything like it. completely unexpected. it is breaking us. >> the regional governor of tuscany has blamed climate change for the catastrophe and said the flooding could get worse in the future. farmers are worried that crops could fail. the tiber valley has been particularly hard hit. >> i have suffered huge damage. the feed for my livestock has been destroyed, as has my harvest. even my garden got washed away. >> cleanup operations are under way. three people died here in their car when a bridge collapsed. floodwaters have now r

obviously, israel, which is having grave concerns, as we do, for example, about movements of chemical weapons that might occur in such a chaotic atmosphere. it could have an impact on the region as a whole. i'm encouraged to see that the opposition created an umbrella group that may have more cohesion than they have had in the past. my envoys will be traveling and meeting with people. we consider them a legitimate representative of the as operations -- aspirations of the syrian people. it's a broad-based representative group. one of the questions we'll continue to press is making sure that the opposition is committed to a democratic syria, an inclusive syria, a moderate syria. we have seen extremist elements insinuate themselves into the opposition. and one of the things that we have to be on guard about, particularly talking about arming opposition figures, is that we're not indirectly putting arms in the handles of folks who would do americans harm or israelis or otherwise engage in actions that are detrimental to our national security. we're constantly probing and working on that i

countries like turkey and jordan. that immediately border syria and have an impact and obviously, israel, which is having grave concerns, as we do, for example, about movements of chemical weapons that might occur in such a chaotic atmosphere. it could have an impact on the region as a whole. i'm encouraged to see that the opposition created an umbrella group that may have more cohesion than they have had in the past. my envoys will be traveling and meeting with people. we consider them a legitimate representative of the as operations -- aspirations of the syrian people. it's a broad-based representative group. one of the questions we'll continue to press is making sure that the opposition is committed to a democratic syria, an inclusive syria, a moderate syria. we have seen extremist elements insinuate themselves into the opposition. and one of the things that we have to be on guard about, particularly talking about arming opposition figures, is that we're not indirectly putting arms in the handles of folks who would do americans harm or israelis or otherwise engage in actions that are

so blessed out right now. >> it is amazing, i came all the way from israel to meet the people and hang out and she was amazing. >> the environment, the people, everything. it is like everyone has so much energy. >> hey, you are beautiful. and i love you. >> why? because... it is definitely a lot more fun than being inside. >> so far we have had zero problems. it is a long-step process, a lot of thinking and people involved. so we think that we got rid of all of the problems that could happen. they are doing it, and we are doing it and everybody is doing the best that they can. >> it is a wonderful out reach >> come. >> it is beautiful. ♪ >> we are here at j.c. plumbing. you are going to show was plumbing fixtures. >> yes, we are. very excited to have you. >> let's look at fixtures and faucets and accessories. it is going to be very exciting here. please join us for "bluilding sf." joining janessa and i today is andre. thanks for coming. we have had some great times in the past with some of these shows. you have been kitchen and bath in the past. >> i'm an architect. i do a lot o

. jordan is really key also to any peace deal with israel. jordan has given intelligence assistance over iraq and cooperates on issues of terrorism with the u.s. so, if the situation does escalate, it will be dangerous and it really depends on how king abdullah handles this delicate situation. what people are say iing is the 50% increase in gas prices, kill that. we don't want it. they have to reverse it or do something. >> zain verjee reporting live for us this morning. thank you. >>> president obama hard at work this week trying to avoid the looming crisis of the fiscal cliff. the mayor of columbus, ohio, says the road to success is through wall street. hi, mayor coleman. beef, unions, and peppers baked in a ketchup glaze with savory gravy and mashed russet potatoes. what makes stouffer's meatloaf best of all? that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. let's fix dinner. get on e-trade. set up a real plan. frank! oh wow, you didn't win? i wanna show you something... it's my shocked face. [ gasps ] [ male announcer ] get a retirement plan that works... at e-trade. two. three. my